Model Example of Small-Scale Public Contracts Evaluation in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The study addresses small-scale public contracts in small municipalities in the Czech Republic. Small-scale public contracts represent a problematic area of public sector anywhere in the world due to attempts to manipulate and influence the results of procurement procedures. Evaluation of small-scale public contracts is not bound by any statutory procedural obligations in the Czech Republic. Act no. 134/2016 Sb. on Public Procurement does not address small-scale public contracts but it stipulates that principles of transparency, proportionality, equal treatment and non-discrimination must be followed. For the purpose of the present study, publicly accessible data from the websites of selected municipalities in the Czech Republic has been used. This data was collected based on the analysis of the information openness development as well as analysis of the existence and quality of internal regulations development. In addition, data was obtained through a questionnaire survey among mayors of selected municipalities. The questionnaire results show that small municipalities in most cases do not have their own internal regulations for small-scale public procurement. They evaluate individual bids mainly based on the lowest bid price and use various forms of procurement procedures. The most common is direct addressing of specific suppliers. This type of procurement is typical for small municipalities with a population of about 2,000. For this reason, the outcome of this study is a proposal of a procedure for small-scale construction contracts. The procedure is divided into three categories according to the expected value of the public contract. For each category, number of suppliers contacted, way the suppliers are contacted, decision-maker and a bid evaluation process have been determined. This procedure could be employed by the municipalities as an internal regulation for small-scale construction contracts which would increase transparency of the procurement procedure and would allow public control of this procedure.